Simplified transformation matrices of journal bearings in vertical application

Abstract

Rotodynamic simulation of complex or/and large systems, for instance hydropower machines, may consist of models with many degrees of freedom and require multidisciplinary computations such as fluid-thermal-structure interactions or rotor-stator interactions due to electromagnetic forces. Simulating such systems is often computationally heavy and impractical, especially in the case of optimization or parametric study, where many iterations are required. This has, therefore, created a need for simplified dynamic models to improve computational efficiency without significantly affecting the accuracy of the simulation result. The purpose of this paper is to present simplified coordinate transformation matrices for journal bearings in vertical rotors, which require less computational effort. Matrix multiplications, which appear during coordinate transformation, were eliminated, and the bearing stiffness and damping matrices in the fixed reference frame were represented by local coefficients instead. The dynamic response of a vertical rotor with eight-shoe Tilting pad journal bearings was simulated using the proposed model for two operational conditions, i.e., when the rotor was spinning at constant and variable speeds. The results from the proposed model were compared to those from the original model and validated through experiments. The conclusion was that the presented simulation model is time efficient and can effectively be used in rotordynamic simulations and analyses.